You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Claire, quattordici anni, è diventata una Partoriente. Stesa su di un lettino, bendata, dà alla luce il suo bambino tra violente fitte di dolore, subito placate dalle medicine miracolose delle quali la sua Comunità dispone. Poi, il bambino le viene portato via. E' così che funziona, nelle Comunità: non esistono figli ma solamente prodotti, "ordinati" come merce ad una Partoriente e destinati poi alla famiglia che ne ha fatto richiesta. Il bambino di Claire, tuttavia, si rivela speciale sin dall'inizio: i suoi occhi - di un insolito e intenso blu - guardano tutto con una curiosità e una vivacità fuori dal comune e, ogni notte, mentre tutti gli altri "prodotti" dormono nelle loro culle, la voce del piccolo vola alta tra le mura dell'ospedale, svegliando chiunque tenti di riposare. Da subito, dunque, il figlio di Claire diventa un problema. Un problema da eliminare, perché destabilizza l'equilibrio perfetto della Comunità. Un problema da uccidere. E' Jonas - il Jonas di The Giver, primo volume della trilogia - a portare in salvo il bambino attraversando il fiume che separa la Comunità dall'Altrove e fuggendo insieme a lui.
Tempo dopo, anche Claire fugge, imbarcandosi su una nave - proveniente dall'Altrove - che era solita rifornire di provviste la Comunità. Durante il viaggio in mare, però, la nave fa naufragio, la donna viene salvata per miracolo e il trauma le cancella la memoria. Di suo figlio - di quel figlio che ha lottato per ritrovare - non ricorda nulla. Resta soltanto il senso di una mancanza e il folle desiderio di rincontrare ciò che non ricorda di aver perso.
E' una poesia, quest'ultimo capitolo della saga distopica di Lois Lowry. I personaggi e le storie dei tre volumi precedenti si riuniscono qui in un unicum che spiega molte cose, chiarisce i punti rimasti in sospeso e dà un senso (morale, soprattutto) all'intera vicenda. Mi piace molto l'idea di collocare questi piccoli mondi - la Comunità, il Villaggio, la cittadina di pescatori dove vive Alys - in un luogo fuori dal tempo e dallo spazio: in tal modo, è come se l'autrice dichiarasse che tutto ciò che è raccontato, tutti gli orrori - ma anche le gioie - che si verificano in quei luoghi, possono avvenire ovunque, in qualunque momento. Questo quarto volume mi è sembrato un po' più lento, ma anche più poetico e delicato, dei precedenti. L'amore materno la fa da padrone, governa la storia e ne tira le somme e - cosa meravigliosa - la Lowry racconta quest'amore attraverso la sua assenza. Sia Claire che Gabe (suo figlio) amano ardentemente una grande mancanza - il figlio per l'una, la madre per l'altro. Ecco, bisogna essere nella giusta disposizione d'animo per leggere questo libro. Prendetevi il vostro tempo e entrate - "immedesimatevi", come fa Gabe - nei personaggi. Vivete questa storia, perché merita e perché ha moltissimo da dire - da dare.
Tempo dopo, anche Claire fugge, imbarcandosi su una nave - proveniente dall'Altrove - che era solita rifornire di provviste la Comunità. Durante il viaggio in mare, però, la nave fa naufragio, la donna viene salvata per miracolo e il trauma le cancella la memoria. Di suo figlio - di quel figlio che ha lottato per ritrovare - non ricorda nulla. Resta soltanto il senso di una mancanza e il folle desiderio di rincontrare ciò che non ricorda di aver perso.
E' una poesia, quest'ultimo capitolo della saga distopica di Lois Lowry. I personaggi e le storie dei tre volumi precedenti si riuniscono qui in un unicum che spiega molte cose, chiarisce i punti rimasti in sospeso e dà un senso (morale, soprattutto) all'intera vicenda. Mi piace molto l'idea di collocare questi piccoli mondi - la Comunità, il Villaggio, la cittadina di pescatori dove vive Alys - in un luogo fuori dal tempo e dallo spazio: in tal modo, è come se l'autrice dichiarasse che tutto ciò che è raccontato, tutti gli orrori - ma anche le gioie - che si verificano in quei luoghi, possono avvenire ovunque, in qualunque momento. Questo quarto volume mi è sembrato un po' più lento, ma anche più poetico e delicato, dei precedenti. L'amore materno la fa da padrone, governa la storia e ne tira le somme e - cosa meravigliosa - la Lowry racconta quest'amore attraverso la sua assenza. Sia Claire che Gabe (suo figlio) amano ardentemente una grande mancanza - il figlio per l'una, la madre per l'altro. Ecco, bisogna essere nella giusta disposizione d'animo per leggere questo libro. Prendetevi il vostro tempo e entrate - "immedesimatevi", come fa Gabe - nei personaggi. Vivete questa storia, perché merita e perché ha moltissimo da dire - da dare.
Give me a half star rating system, Good Reads! I think this book meant more to me because I had my first child 8 months ago. The physical yearing of a mother for her child is very real and something I can relate to. The first book was heartbreaking as Claire slowly realizes what has happened to her, her son, and her surrounding community. Book two is about her rebirth and, though it goes on for too long, I liked how she became strong (emotionally and physically) for her new life. Book three was a rather disappointing climax with lots of supernatural elements that I didn't care for. As I said in The Messenger's review, I always thought of The Giver as a metaphor (its a metaphor!!) for society and wanted to know more about how our universe (they talk about Moby Dick and Shakespeare) came to be in such a state. In the subsequent books of the Quartet, Lowry gives things a supernatural twist that was rather disappointing. When I saw her speak she said she never set out to write a dystopia. To me, The Giver was magic realism. These subsequent books, Son in particular, has turned it into fantasy. Not bad... just not what I was looking for.
This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on February 22, 2013.
This was such an excellent book. I first read The Giver when I was in 7th grade (too long ago) and was so curious about the story. I didn't understand the concepts on the same level that I understand them at now as an adult, but it made a big impact nonetheless. I didn't know there were sequels to The Giver until I took a class on YA Literature when I was in college. I read Messenger and The Gathering Blue for a project in that class and was enthralled by those as well. So, once I heard that Son was coming out, I knew there was no way I wouldn't read it. And I'm so very glad I did.
Honestly, I'm surprised that I got this from the library as quickly as I did, because I assumed a lot of people would want to read it. And obviously, they do because there are over 1000 ratings and the book hasn't been out more than a few months yet.
Even though it's been a while since I read the first three books, I had no trouble falling right back into that world again. The beginning of the book goes back into the past, when Jonas is still in The Community. It gives more background about Gabe, and particularly about his origins, which I know that I was curious about, even in The Giver.
There's so much to say and yet, I don't want to ruin anything by giving spoilers. This quartet has been so long in the making I would feel horrible spoiling anything, so this review is going to be very general and to the point.
Claire is a strong, determined character. She gives up a lot, for someone that she loves, and it's hard to watch her struggle through the effects of the choices she's made. In addition to her struggles she also sacrifices a great deal personally. As I read, I found myself wishing and hoping that, in the end, her struggle and sacrifices would be worth it. I'm glad to say that they were.
Jonas is no longer the leader in his community. He now has a family of his own, with Kira, and it is nice to see him happy and more relaxed. He has become wise and sure of himself, similar to the Giver in the original story. It's obvious to see how much he loves Gabe, and cares for him, and the community as a whole.
Although this book is meant to be the conclusion to the series, there is still so much more I want to know. I have so many questions, so many details I'm wondering about. I gave away my copies of the other books in this series a few months ago, but I'm thinking that at some point I'll check out all four books from the library and do a read-through of the whole series.
This is an excellent novel. I would recommend it to fans of Lois Lowry, and for anyone looking for a unique twist on dystopias.
This was such an excellent book. I first read The Giver when I was in 7th grade (too long ago) and was so curious about the story. I didn't understand the concepts on the same level that I understand them at now as an adult, but it made a big impact nonetheless. I didn't know there were sequels to The Giver until I took a class on YA Literature when I was in college. I read Messenger and The Gathering Blue for a project in that class and was enthralled by those as well. So, once I heard that Son was coming out, I knew there was no way I wouldn't read it. And I'm so very glad I did.
Honestly, I'm surprised that I got this from the library as quickly as I did, because I assumed a lot of people would want to read it. And obviously, they do because there are over 1000 ratings and the book hasn't been out more than a few months yet.
Even though it's been a while since I read the first three books, I had no trouble falling right back into that world again. The beginning of the book goes back into the past, when Jonas is still in The Community. It gives more background about Gabe, and particularly about his origins, which I know that I was curious about, even in The Giver.
There's so much to say and yet, I don't want to ruin anything by giving spoilers. This quartet has been so long in the making I would feel horrible spoiling anything, so this review is going to be very general and to the point.
Claire is a strong, determined character. She gives up a lot, for someone that she loves, and it's hard to watch her struggle through the effects of the choices she's made. In addition to her struggles she also sacrifices a great deal personally. As I read, I found myself wishing and hoping that, in the end, her struggle and sacrifices would be worth it. I'm glad to say that they were.
Jonas is no longer the leader in his community. He now has a family of his own, with Kira, and it is nice to see him happy and more relaxed. He has become wise and sure of himself, similar to the Giver in the original story. It's obvious to see how much he loves Gabe, and cares for him, and the community as a whole.
Although this book is meant to be the conclusion to the series, there is still so much more I want to know. I have so many questions, so many details I'm wondering about. I gave away my copies of the other books in this series a few months ago, but I'm thinking that at some point I'll check out all four books from the library and do a read-through of the whole series.
This is an excellent novel. I would recommend it to fans of Lois Lowry, and for anyone looking for a unique twist on dystopias.
So emotionally unstable after finishing the last book in The Giver Quartet. 
I finally finished this series; which apparently became a favorite - unexpectedly. I cried in every book. It was just so hard not to. "The End" taunted me like, 'yeah, that's it. It's over.' 
I mean But it's over.. I could only hope they make all these books into movie. No matter how unjustifiable it will be. xx
I finally finished this series; which apparently became a favorite - unexpectedly. I cried in every book. It was just so hard not to. "The End" taunted me like, 'yeah, that's it. It's over.' I mean Spoiler
Gabriel and his mother should've at least been reunited for real!
Loved how she tied up all the books and added to the original Giver story. The writing seemed a bit rushed - there were some sloppy redundancies in the first part. For the most part, though, this is another excellent work by Lowry.
I really enjoyed the entire Giver series, and this was a nice wrap up of the previous stories and how they tie into each other.
Great end to the quartet, although a little vague.
I'm not sure I dislike this book as much as others might, but I do have some criticisms that I'd like to discuss.
I generally like the idea of having these different communities all in the same world and the idea of different protagonists, but I'm not sure it totally works. There's a whole plot here regarding the separation of these communities and the economic/ecological differences that these communities face. I don't entirely believe that a river separates the community in The Giver from the village in Gathering Blue, or that a mountain separates the farming community in Son from the village that first appeared in Gathering Blue.
One of my biggest struggles with The Giver was imagining its world--is it futuristic or archaic? When the movie came out, I thought the world looked so different from how it did in my head, but then again, they had to have had immense technologies--how else could they monitor everyone so closely? If they do have such great technology, why aren't they a target to other, less fortunate communities?
I also struggle with the implications of the supply ship first mentioned in The Giver and last mentioned in Son. Where does it come from? Why do they provide supplies to the community? What could the community offer that would make not just the supplies but the labor involved as well? The community doesn't appear to have any currency, nor do they appear to produce anything in enough quantity to share.
I wonder about how this world came to be, with humans who possess magic as well as evil incarnate. I'm also a little confused about Jonas. In The Giver they mentioned his ability to see beyond, but here, and in Messenger, it's an ability separate to that of being able to transfer memories. I understand that it's fantasy, but it feels too close to have gone so far.
Despite my criticisms, I still enjoyed the series for the big questions it asks and the ideas it talks about. The characters are sympathetic, particularly Matty. I don't entirely buy the marriage between Jonas and Kira. Jonas as an adult is also kind of hard to manage.
I generally like the idea of having these different communities all in the same world and the idea of different protagonists, but I'm not sure it totally works. There's a whole plot here regarding the separation of these communities and the economic/ecological differences that these communities face. I don't entirely believe that a river separates the community in The Giver from the village in Gathering Blue, or that a mountain separates the farming community in Son from the village that first appeared in Gathering Blue.
One of my biggest struggles with The Giver was imagining its world--is it futuristic or archaic? When the movie came out, I thought the world looked so different from how it did in my head, but then again, they had to have had immense technologies--how else could they monitor everyone so closely? If they do have such great technology, why aren't they a target to other, less fortunate communities?
I also struggle with the implications of the supply ship first mentioned in The Giver and last mentioned in Son. Where does it come from? Why do they provide supplies to the community? What could the community offer that would make not just the supplies but the labor involved as well? The community doesn't appear to have any currency, nor do they appear to produce anything in enough quantity to share.
I wonder about how this world came to be, with humans who possess magic as well as evil incarnate. I'm also a little confused about Jonas. In The Giver they mentioned his ability to see beyond, but here, and in Messenger, it's an ability separate to that of being able to transfer memories. I understand that it's fantasy, but it feels too close to have gone so far.
Despite my criticisms, I still enjoyed the series for the big questions it asks and the ideas it talks about. The characters are sympathetic, particularly Matty. I don't entirely buy the marriage between Jonas and Kira. Jonas as an adult is also kind of hard to manage.
I absolutely loved The Giver, but the rest of the books in the tetralogy were just meh. Books 2 and 3 have story lines that seem to be unrelated to the first book, or each other. I did enjoy how this final book tied everything together, making it my second favorite book for the series, but still… after reading The Giver I had high hopes for the series and think it could have been executed better.
Génialissime !! Passionant, conclut la quadrilogie avec soin !! Un bonheur à lire